News: Short & sweet / archive
January to March 2023

Ten mature trees of five different species were planted in Pantano Cuba, at the end of February 2023, to enrich and improve the habitat structure for the benefit of migratory birds.
An increasing number of raptor and songbird species are now using our Pantani biodiversity reserve for long rests during migration periods and increasingly even for wintering. We have, therefore, invested in some large and mature native Sicilian tree species for the short-term enrichment of our Pantani countryside and its natural habitats 

Heavy rainfall in the Pantani region along the southeast coast of Sicily on the 9th and 10th of February 2023, created perfect soil conditions for planting large and mature native tree species around the Pantano Cuba lagoon. The trees will enrich and improve our bushland and grassland habitats, particularly for raptors and songbirds resting and foraging during migration in our Pantano Cuba & Longarini migratory bird and biodiversity reserve.

We chose five different species of trees, which fit perfectly into our biodiversity project and the local natural environment. These include two Carob trees and one large Olive tree, both species typical of the rural eco-systems and countryside of the Ragusa and Syracuse regions; three Holly Oaks, an evergreen Sicilian Oak, once very common especially along the coast and now in sharp decline; three Honeyberry trees, a wild tree species typical for dry, rocky and warm habitats that produce berries eaten by many different species of birds; and one Pomegranate tree, with large blossoms and nourishment for insects and which will produce beautiful juicy red fruit in summer.

We integrated the Carob (including one huge tree 60 years old), Olive and Pomegranate trees into our orchards and open countryside habitats.

The three oak trees, about 25 years old and five metres high, were planted in our Mediterranean scrub habitat to improve and enrich its structure with high trees. They will be very attractive for many species of insects and their acorns will be eaten by small mammals and birds.

The three Honeyberry trees, 20 years old and 6 metres high, were planted inside the donkey grazing area, where trees are few and isolated, to provide shade and natural perches for birds of prey such as falcons and owls.

Planting mature native trees is a robust and positive ecological action that will rapidly improve our nature reserve’s quality, offering new, rare and immediately available niches to biodiversity.

Final report and results of the Cyprus winter bird protection camps 2022/23
After ten weeks of deployment at the Cyprus Winter Bird Protection Camp 2022/23, the best news is that we have never previously found so few active bird trapping sites in winter and so few illegal trapping facilities needed to be dismantled.
 
The main reason was the unusually high day and night temperatures in southern Europe and Cyprus. Song Thrushes and Eurasian Skylarks did not need to migrate further south from the Baltic States and Greece because nutrition was plentiful there. This spared them from running the gauntlet of illegal hunters and trappers on Cyprus in winter!
 
As a result of the lack of songbirds in Cyprus, many trappers dismantled their illegal trapping limesticks this winter as a precaution to avoid being reported to the authorities by our activists!
 
Nevertheless, we managed to surprise and film two bird trappers at Ayios Nikolaos dismantling their four illegal mist nets and an illegal electronic bird call decoy system and file a complaint against one of the two bird trappers identified by the police.
 
Our bird conservationists had to show considerable patience and perseverance at an illegal bird trapping site next to a residential building in the Limassol district. The mist net set up there was visible from afar and was easily visible to neighbours. Nevertheless, it took a whole week until two songbirds were trapped in the net, and the trapper came to remove them. We were able to film him and successfully file a well-documented criminal complaint.
 
However, the absence of Song Thrushes and Eurasian Skylarks motivated bird hunters to an unprecedented extent to shoot at anything that flew, even in nature conservation areas. Strictly protected duck species were hunted even in Lake Paralimni. Catching illegal duck hunters requires patience and commitment, as the hunters are usually only active after sunset and only leave their area with their prey after dark. Nonetheless, we successfully filed a complaint against an illegal duck hunter.
 
This spring, we will again fly the flag in Cyprus with a new bird protection camp and react flexibly and effectively to the changing poaching and bird-hunting activities. We won't let down our friends on Cyprus!

Final results of the winter bird protection camp  08.12.2022 – 26.02.2023

Bird trappers

• 129 trapping sites kept regularly under observation
• 10 active trapping sites dismantled
• 4 illegal mist net facilities dismantled
• 1 electronic decoy caller dismantled
• 2 official complaints against illegal trappers registered with the authorities

Illegal bird hunting

• 49 locations with illegal hunting activity identified
• 12 electronic decoy callers set out by illegal bird hunters dismantled
• 12 official complaints against illegal bird hunters registered with the authorities

The sustainable conservation and creation of new future breeding and nesting sites for the Little Owl is hard work
In the third consecutive winter, thanks to funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and project-related donations, our Foundation is now carrying out maintenance on several hundred pollarded willows in the districts of Paderborn, Gütersloh and Soest

Despite more than 200 litres/sqm of beneficial rainfall in the Paderborn, Güterloh and Soest districts from mid-November 2022 to the end of January 2023, and the correspondingly problematic soil conditions, our pollard tree maintenance teams are well within schedule. This winter half-year, as at 31 January 2023, they have already pollarded 757 willows and planted 60 new willow cuttings.
 
Despite the adverse weather conditions, this was only possible thanks to a highly motivated tree maintenance company and tireless volunteers who even worked in the dark with lighting technology.
 
And since we, as our Little Owl project coordinator Herbert assured us on 30 January 2023, are in the best of moods, we plan to pollard a further 129 willows by 28 February 2023, which marks the end of the legally stipulated period for tree pruning work in the open countryside.
 
With a total of 886 pruned willows, that would mark an absolute pollard tree maintenance record for us. As the dream topping for the Little Owl, we are also installing 15 new artificial crevices in suitable trees, far away from all roads and paths, ensuring a timely improvement in this small day owl’s habitat.

1st report and results of the Cyprus Winter Bird Protection Camp 2022/2023
 
After three weeks of operations of the Cyprus Winter Bird Protection Camp 2022/23, the best news is that fewer active bird trapping sites than ever were detected, and the teams dismantled fewer trapping sites during the winter. Illegal songbird hunting activities were also much lower in December than in previous years. What were the reasons for the decline and , what was different this December?

In December 2022, Southern Europe and Cyprus experienced unusually high day and night temperatures. This meant that the prime illegal hunting target species, migratory Song Thrush and Eurasian Skylark, still had sufficient nutrition in their summer quarters in the Baltic States and Greece. There was, therefore, no reason for them to continue their migration southwards.

The nights in Southern Europe and Cyprus were still above +10°C in December and we know from experience that the Song Thrush and Eurasian Skylark migration to Cyprus only takes place at lower temperatures. As a result of the lack of prey to hunt, Cypriot bird poachers and illegal hunters remained at home.

Out of pure boredom and the desire to shoot, some hunters were out and about shooting indiscriminately at all songbird species to let off steam. We were able to catch three hunters in the act and report them for using electronic bird call decoys to attract species such as the Common Chiffchaff. Thus, we could catch a bird hunter with four freshly shot Common Chiffchaffs... and that becomes very expensive for him.

Nevertheless, our bird conservationists are also out every night in January and are also prepared for lower night temperatures in January, with a resultant rapid increase in bird trapping and hunting.

Results of 23 Bird Protection Camp operating days from 08 to 31 December 2022

Bird trappers

• 75 trapping sites observed on a regular basis
• 5 active trapping sites dismantled
• 2 illegal mist net sites dismantled
• 1 electronic bird caller dismantled

Illegal bird hunting

• 21 hunting sites with illegal hunting activity identified
• 21 electronic bird callers of illegal hunters dismantled
• 3 criminal charges filed against illegal bird hunters